


stepping stones and four leaf clovers

by of_rivers_and_moons



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Introspection, POV Second Person, oh right, this was meant to be for his birthday im so late im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:49:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24619381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/of_rivers_and_moons/pseuds/of_rivers_and_moons
Summary: You can’t be Hope, but you can be a stepping stone
Kudos: 5





	stepping stones and four leaf clovers

**Author's Note:**

> haha wym im 2 months late to his birthday here have some angst -river
> 
> TW!!!!! intense self deprecation and vague suicidal thoughts

Hope.

It all comes back to hope.

Because when your life is full of luck and misfortune, what else is there to do but hope for things to turn out alright. 

Your plane gets hijacked, but it gets hit by a meteor and the hijacker dies. Your parents die too, but you inherit their wealth. You get kidnapped, but you find a winning lottery ticket. 

When things turn bad, they’ll always come out okay. That’s the only thing you can count on. The worse things are, the more hope you have for them getting better. 

You cling to it. Your hope is the only thing you can count on. It’s the only thing consistently there for you. It’s the only thing that matters.

And soon, soon, you’re just so desperate for something to hope for that you seek out the bad. The more you harm your chances, the worse you make things for yourself, the better it’ll end up.

One day, you turn on the tv. And there they are. Ultimates. Hope’s Peak Academy glimmers on your screen, and you can’t tear your eyes away. Now that.

That’s Hope.

You thought you knew everything about hope. You figured that hope was optimism, a goodness that could never be reached, but was the greatest goal of all.

Now you understand.

Hope is potential. 

You see all of those amazing people, these Ultimates, who are going to change the world, and you finally get it. These people are Hope incarnate. They inspire Hope just by existing, their very presence will allow Hope to spread. 

You see now.

You see that you are nothing compared to them.

You

are

n   
o  
t  
h  
i  
n  
g.

Your goal in life changes. You can’t be Hope. You can’t inspire Hope. You can’t show people that amazing light you felt in your darkest hours.

But you can help.

You can’t be Hope, but you can be a stepping stone. You can’t inspire Hope, but you can let those can use you for what they need. You can’t show people that light, but you can assist those that do.

Ah.

Assist is a kind word.

You are a tool.

A step on a ladder.

Something to be used.

Something thrown out when the end is reached.

You will not work with anyone.

You will work for them.

And imagine your surprise when you get a letter saying that you won the lottery to go to Hope’s Peak. Someone as worthless as you? That must be an oversight.

You write back, rejecting their offer, because someone more talented than you should obviously go instead; however, they write back and insist you attend, and who are you to deny Hope’s Peak Academy? 

You show up to your first day and you’re in awe. Everyone around you just oozes Hope. You can practically feel it surrounding them. 

You enter your classroom and see your future classmates. You’re as unworthy as always, of course, so you don’t try to speak to them, because who would want to talk to someone as worthless as you? You certainly wouldn’t. So, you sit quietly.

Miss Chisa Yukizome walks in, and calls everyone important. You almost laugh. No one is special like the Ultimates, not you, and especially not the fools in the Reserve Course. But why should a talentless piece of trash like you talk back to an Ultimate? So you stay quiet.

Your classmates find you creepy, but you don’t understand. They’re the world’s Hope, they’re the most important things, and you’re nothing more than a bug, so why wouldn’t they want to hear that? It’s just the truth. Maybe they’re just afraid of the truth, you think, so you talk even more.

The doctor says you have lymphoma and dementia. He says your luck is the reason you’ve lived so long. Ah, you think, so I’m dying. Oh well, you never had much purpose anyways. You thank him and move on.

You don’t think much about the part where it deteriorates your mental state. You don’t think much about the fact that you’re dying at all.

Okay, so, maybe exploding the gym wasn’t your best idea, but you can’t bring yourself to regret it. Anything for them. Anything for Hope. It doesn’t matter what they want, it matters how much their Hope can shine. Why won’t they see that? Everyone refuses to see that. So now you’re suspended, and you’re not even mad, because it would be better if the Ultimates didn’t have to see a worthless bug everyday. This is for the best you think, as you smile serenely and board a plane.

Of course, the plane crashes. You’re luck made sure of that. It also made sure you survived, which is unfortunate. Wouldn’t it have been better for everyone if you just died right then? Oh well, hopefully you’ll be back for the end of the school year. Hopefully.

Ha. How funny. Hopefully.

You manage to return, at some point, but not without a gun in your hand and knowledge of a plot against humanity. 

She is Despair.

She cannot live.

You are Hope.

You will be Hope.

She must die.

You fail. Why are you even surprised? She’s alive and you failed. How pathetic. You were worthless to the end.

But, it’s not the end?

Not your end.

You failed. Your survived. But Chiaki didn’t.

You see the light slowly fade from her eyes and start thinking: Maybe Despair isn’t that bad. The deepest Despair breeds the brightest of Hopes. Yes, yes, send them into Despair so their Hope can shine brighter!

Despair

D e s p a i r

D e s p a i r

D e s p a i r

and then, just maybe, as they’re about to tip off the edge, you can see a little glimmer in their eye, a fleeting look of Hope. Yes. That’s what it’s all for. All of this destruction all of this Despair, it’s all for that.

Isn’t it?

——

You wake up on an island


End file.
